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Australia

$70m that renters unknowingly owed to NT government is ‘quietly’ waived

$70m that renters unknowingly owed to NT government is 'quietly' waived

Legal advocates say the Northern Territory government has “quietly” wiped $70 million worth of rental debt allegedly owed by remote residents who didn’t know the debt existed.

The existence of the alleged debt came to light when the Santa Teresa community sued the NT Department of Housing for providing uninhabitable housing stock.

In 2016 the government announced it would countersue the residents taking legal action against them, claiming individual households owed up to $21,000 to the department in unpaid rent.

Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights solicitor Dan Kelly represents the Santa Teresa community and said this alleged debt came “out of nowhere” for residents.

“It was obviously very worrying and distressing,” he said.

“They were under the impression they had been paying their rent as instructed through direct debits.”

Freedom-of-information requests revealed the Territory government alleged the community owed a total of $2 million in unpaid rent but had never pursued the debts.

An Indigenous woman stands in front of a basic dwelling.
Annie Young has been part of the years-long legal fight with NT Housing seeking compensation over unsafe housing.(ABC News: Isabella Higgins)

Debt waiver not publicized

Mr Kelly said the wiping of the alleged debt only came to light because a similar countersuit taken out by the government against residents for Laramba was suddenly dropped early this month at the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT).

Since 2018, Laramba’s residents have been engaged in legal action against the Department of Housing, arguing they have a right to safe drinking water following revelations theirs contains three times the recommended levels of uranium.

“They announced to the court that the Treasurer has made a determination under the Financial Management Act waiving or writing off any alleged debts,” Mr Kelly said.

“That’s essentially all we know.”

NTCAT heard the decision to wipe the alleged debt was made at the end of June.

In a statement, the government said renters were visited by tenancy officers to advise them historical rental debt up to December 11, 2021 would not be pursued.

The decision to wipe $70 million worth of debt has not been otherwise publicized by the government.

A man wearing a blue shirt with a smiling baby looks at the camera.
The debt waiver came to light when a countersuit against Laramba residents was dropped.(ABC News: Isaac Nowroozi)

‘Failure system’

Mr Kelly said the government’s countersuit against Santa Teresa residents was eventually unsuccessful because “records were unable to support the fact that the amount was in fact owing”.

Wiping these debts means the government can no longer countersue residents who take them to court in this same way, but Mr Kelly said based on the outcome of the Santa Teresa countersuit, it was “questionable” if any debts would have been probable.

“Their records, I think, have been proven to be unreliable.”

In a statement, the government said the rental system was “antiquated” and “ineffective, confusing for tenants and challenging to administer”.

Mr Kelly said the saga surrounding the unpursued and unproven debts was indicative that remote housing policy was “failing” in the NT.

“It’s a policy that failed because Aboriginal-controlled organizations were not part of the conversation and Aboriginal voices weren’t involved in the policy.

“This was money that should have been fixing up houses and making sure they were at a reasonable and comfortable standard.”

Debt forgiven as rent is raised

The decision to waive the alleged debt comes as the government plans to increase rents for many residents in remote communities and town camps as part of the new remote rent framework.

Rent to be raised
The way the NT calculates rent for public housing is changing on September 5.(Supplied)

On September 5 the government will abolish income-based rent setting for these properties and introduce pricing schemes that researchers from the Australian National University found would in turn increase rent for 68 per cent of tenants.

The researchers found rent would increase for 80 per cent of renters in Central Australia and 81 per cent of residents in the Barkly.

“Our view on the new rent system is that it’s not going to work again — it’s been designed without the adequate input of Aboriginal organisations,” Mr Kelly said.

In a statement, the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities said the new framework was “simple” and “has built-in safeguards to protect people from rental stress should the rent tenants pay exceed 25 per cent of household income”.

“Consultation on the Remote Rent Framework began in 2018 with key stakeholders including a working group with leaders from the housing sector,” it said.

“Tenancy officers have gone door to door across more than 80 communities to provide information to tenants about the new framework.”

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Australia

Anthony Albanese defends Labor’s housing policy as Greens accuses government of increasing waitlist to public homes

Anthony Albanese defends Labor's housing policy as Greens accuses government of increasing waitlist to public homes

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected claims his government’s flagship social housing policy was denying accommodation for thousands of Australians as he hit back at the Greens for blocking developments across the country.

Labor took a slate of housing policies to the election in a bid to bolster public accommodation for vulnerable families.

The platform is a key priority for the Prime Minister who has often spoken of his own experience living in social housing.

But newly elected Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather asked Mr Albanese if the government’s plan to establish 4,000 new dwellings a year for five years would see the “waitlist grow” and deny thousands of families the “same chance”.

“I indeed do understand the importance of having a secure roof over your head, and what that can do for the opportunity to advance in life. I know it because I have lived it,” Mr Albanese said.

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“I know that the member’s political party has substantial representation in local government and what I’d encourage him to do is to actually encourage the Greens political party to back affordable housing rather than just oppose it.

“Because in my local area, when there’s been programs in Marrickville, they have been opposed.”

Demand for public housing is significantly outstripping supply with the waiting list increasing by more than 8,000 households in 2021 while less than 4,000 new dwellings came online in the same period.

The waiting list currently sits at 163,508, according to new data published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The Albanese Government’s $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will build up to 30,000 new properties for vulnerable Australians over the next five years.

Up to 10,000 of those dwellings will be provided to frontline workers, with the remaining 20,000 to be allocated for vulnerable families.

Mr Chandler-Mather said the waitlist would continue to grow if only 4,000 houses were made available a year when the list has grown by an average of 7,662 a year since 2018.

The Prime Minister said the Commonwealth was committed to the issue and would continue to work with state and local governments to bolster the supply of social housing.

“We also established a National Housing Supply and Affordability Council that will work with state and local government importantly to deliver increased housing, be it social housing or affordable housing, particularly through community housing organisations,” he said.

The government has also pledged $200 million for maintenance of existing housing in indigenous communities, $100 million for crisis accommodation for women and children and $30 million for veterans at risk of homelessness.

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Categories
Australia

South Australia’s public housing shortage worsens, as number of people on waiting list reaches 17,000

A person sleeping wrapped in a blanket in the middle of a grassy reserve, city streets and cars in the background

Work has begun on the first stages of the South Australian government’s plan to build 400 new public houses as advocates say the housing shortage is worsening by the day.

There are currently 17,000 people on the waiting list for public housing in South Australia, with nearly 4,000 of those in category one, deemed in urgent need of shelter.

The state government has budgeted $177 million on its plan to build 400 new public houses across metropolitan Adelaide and regional South Australia.

So far, the construction of 44 homes has been given the green light in Kilburn, Woodville Gardens, Parafield Gardens, Salisbury Downs, Elizabeth Park, Elizabeth East, Elizabeth South, Elizabeth Downs and Morphettville.

The state government has confirmed contracts will soon be signed for another 33 homes in metropolitan Adelaide and regional areas, including Mount Gambier, Murray Bridge and Mount Barker.

Out of the 400 new homes, 200 will be built in greater Adelaide, 150 in regional areas and 50 will be built for people experiencing homelessness.

A woman with brown hair and glasses with a concerned expression on her face
Housing Trust Tenants Association assistant secretary Julie Macdonald says rent relief is desperately needed to prevent more people becoming homeless. (abcnews)

‘It’s getting worse’

Housing Trust Tenants Association assistant secretary Julie Macdonald said the extra houses were a “good start” to address the worsening situation.

“It’s getting worse. We’ve got so many homeless people because they can’t afford to rent privately so there’s more people out there waiting for housing,” she said.

“The people on this list are couch-surfing. They’re living in their cars. They’re on the street. They’re desperate for housing.”

Ms Macdonald said more hostels and supported accommodation was needed and that rent relief was crucial to prevent more people becoming homeless.

“Rent relief needs to rise because people just can’t afford the rents that have gone up so badly,” she said.

“We have got so many people in this state who are vulnerable and homeless and absolutely just torn apart with the way housing costs are rising at the moment.”

A woman wearing a purple blazer and purple lipstick with a serious expression
Human Services Minister Nat Cook says her department is working day and night to get more people into housing. (abcnews)

Human Services Minister Nat Cook said people in the most-urgent category include those who have fled domestic violence, children, people with disabilities, elderly people and people with complex mental health problems.

“All of those co-existing situations are taken into account when we are assessing who requires the most-urgent attention,” she said.

“Every day my office works in collaboration with community service providers, local advocates, families and the housing authority to ensure that people’s situations are truly and accurately reflected within that category.

“You see people jumping up in categories overnight because of some sort of catastrophe that happens in their life and we have to make sure that we have a service-provision model that is able to be proactive and reactive at the same time and that’s what I believe we’re doing now with the investments.”

Upgrades and maintenance

In addition to building extra public houses, the government is also planning to carry out major upgrades on 350 vacant homes and fix up 3,000 properties so they can be made available.

“We live in a great state, in a First World country, and we can’t have a situation where people are literally homeless. We can afford to do more,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said.

“That’s why we went to the election with a substantial increase in funding for public housing in the state and we’re now rolling it out as quickly as we can because we know the urgency that exists within the community.”

A woman with glasses and a fringe wearing a white shirt and blazer stands in front of a grassed area
Shadow Minister for Social and Community Housing Michelle Lensink says she’s concerned the costings don’t add up. (abcnews)

Shadow Minister for Social and Community Housing Michelle Lensink said she had concerns about the government’s proposal.

“While we welcome initiatives to get South Australians into a home, there are huge concerns [that] properties previously allocated for affordable housing have been swiped to help prop-up Labor’s poorly costed public housing policy,” she said.

“Smoke and mirrors aside, this could be a case of Labor cutting off its nose to spite its face and that there aren’t really any additional homes coming online.”

She called for the government to check the costs on the initiative to ensure “all the figures still stack up”.

“We are also worried Labor’s costings don’t take into account huge price hikes in supplies and labour.”

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